Internet shopping saves lives
September 25, 2015
Mrs. Crackin’ the Whip and I are in agreement. Shopping for certain things – bras, underwear, swimsuits and jeans – are a special kind of hell. In my case, shopping for anything I have to wear is hell.
My preferred shopping MO is pretty direct: Need a thing? Buy that thing, on sale, with a coupon. Leave.
And that’s when I was young and foolish, brimming full of can-do enthusiasm. These days, I’m not willing to waste even a single drop of energy, much less the full tank needed to go to the store. Oh how I wish I were like a gas tank that could be refilled with a swipe of the credit card. Fill up on Number Me, please, and a spare jug to go!
A normal day is full of getting up, working, taking care of Inchworm, working, more Inchworm, eating, cleaning, and oh yes, working. Who has juice left for the full expedition that is shopping? Not I, said the perpetually-exhausted-even-before-a-kid-working-mom.
Going out means getting dressed, packing up (with the kiddo) in that narrow time we have between naps, driving to a store, navigating the parking, getting ourselves into the store, picking out non-hideous things and then trying it on. Getting dressed wipes me out, then you want my precious brain cells to think about whether something fits? NOPE. Ain’t happening.
As much as being an entirely minimalist live off the land type sounds appealing in theory (kinda) (except I still want running water and indoor plumbing and The West Wing and a washer/dryer), that’s not even remotely likely so the Internet and the online shopping it makes possible is the best answer this millennium has coughed up in the fight against chronic pain and fatigue.
As a chronic slippery slope personality, I make it work for my budget, not against it:
- I am ruthless about returning anything that’s not perfect. “Just ok” is not good enough. There’s no room and no budget for mediocrity!
I only buy where and when I can get free shipping and free returns- Free shipping/returns do not influence my “this is reasonable price point”
- Never click Purchase immediately after filling my cart. Since it’s online, I don’t feel the pressure of Buy it or Get Out Of The Darn Store NOW. There is artificial pressure: “sale ends soon!” or “limited to items in stock!” but there’s always another sale and I never need anything so badly that it has to be THAT ONE RIGHT NOW. Uh, except for the one time.
- CASHBACK (Mr. Rebates), CASHBACK (ebates), CASHBACK (credit card rewards).
Secondhand (hi, Craigslist!) is amazing for almost everything but not for clothes since my size has only recently been more normal and even that’s rarely ever in-store so the only reason to leave the house to shop is the free food samples at Costco or Trader Joe’s. Just as well. I have a theory that the more I’m exposed to the crappier side of human nature between work and shopping malls, the more likely it is I’ll explode, messily, and without warning.
Honestly, my online shopping habit is saving lives here. You’re welcome.
What’s your poison? Can you shop at thrift stores and is it as amazing as I imagine it to be? (Vintage! Designer! Well constructed! All for $5.99!)
Hai! Who hates bra shopping? DIS GIRL.
*hugs*
They SUCK.
I think my new poison might be bras. Recently discovered ABraThatFits on reddit, went to two places that actually help you check your fit/size, and got sick of all my 3+ year old loose bras. EEEEK. I may have to blog about this. So yeah, just spent a bunch on bras and hope that’ll do me for the next couple years. I spent most of this year going braless due to eczema but it’s getting warmer and won’t be wearing so many layers, plus new workplace is more formal, so braless not really an option anymore.
I can and do and almost exclusively thrift shop and it works! Designer/high end chain store brands for cheap!
Also just bought a swimsuit – now that’s just about as bad as bra shopping. Glad that’s done with.
Oh oh, @geekylyndsay has a thing for this: http://brasdemystified.com/ I don’t know why I’m sharing now considering you already found a thing for it.
Swimsuits are terrible but I managed some recently too.
Aw thanks Ravanche! We rolled out of here early Friday morning to visit Friday morning to visit family and as it turns out we were internet-less for the duration of our trip. They kept us well occupied though! No time for reading, writing, and being lazy as we had hoped, but still a ton of fun!
You described clothes shopping to a tee! Normally, when I end up at the store to clothes shop, it has reached a state of emergency. Like, I’m embarrassed to be wearing the clothing I own and something has to be done NOW! I always wonder how anyone views this as fun. Waking up, getting the kid(s) ready, browsing the stores, trying things on… And of course, if it’s not perfect, then it’s not worth it as you said.
Finally, you’ve wasted a whole day! Nope, not fun when you have a million other things to do between work, children, cooking & cleaning!
Now that being said, I do love me some Goodwill. But we have one a mile from our house and it’s a very quick in and out trip. Mr. Crackin’s in / out tolerable time is 20-30 minutes. So it’s a browse real quick, try on anything that you see, and leave! No spending hours browsing through every rack!
When I was a kid they had a grocery store shopping game show (I don’t remember it clearly) where you filled up your cart and ran through the store. Yeah, it’s kinda like that for us!
I am rather envious that you have anything worth browsing for at the Goodwill. Sure do wish we had a good one hereabouts.
Shopping is the worst. Trying to figure out what size you are? Nordstrom is amazing for bra shopping – what with their amazing return/exchange policy and all.
I hate thrift stores. Too much chaos. I love online shopping and then returning, though I do try to figure out what size I am in that brand before buying/returning. I often will try something on in store and then evaluate and buy online – that’s worked really well for me lately. One of my tricks with online shopping is to buy a ton of stuff and then return what doesn’t work out and that way, I can try stuff on with the other stuff I have in my closet at home, like pants/skirts/cardigans/camisoles/etc. And plus, sometimes something looks cute in the picture and not on me.
I’m finally done restocking my closet, phew! That was kind of fun and also exhausting.
I’d love bra shopping… if I could get stuff in my size *hangs head* It really is a special kind of hell.
Consignment and thrift shops are really hit and miss. Sometimes you can walk out with armloads of deals, and other times you come up empty handed. It’s really not for those who are pressed for time or exhausted. You need to be able to browse and try stuff on. I actually went consignment shopping with Adina J tonight. We tried on a couple dozen items and walked out with two each. They weren’t $5.99, but they were still highly discounted from store prices ($25 for a J.Crew pencil skirt, $20 for Banana Republic pants). All stores are different, you kind of have to give it a try and see how it goes.
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